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What is it about prices in Australia?

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thomo

thomo

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I just ordered a new Eizo CG245W monitor and the best deal I could get in Oz was $4300AUD yet when I convert the currencies, it would have only cost me $3038AUD in great Britain and only $3203AUD in the USA.

I just saw on the Nikon forum D700 in Canada for $2675AUD ($2500CA) whereas you would be hard pressed to get one for less than $3200AUD.

A D300s was listed at $1712AUD ($1600CA) whereas they are $2400AUD in Oz.

Had similar issues with software where I paid about $1400AUD for CS5 & LR3 compared to Abobe's prices in the USA of about $1100USD.

What is it about Australian importers - its not the shipping costs thats for sure!

BRING ON THE GREY IMPORTS!
 
Exactly. The prices here are ridiculous, and why I haven't bought one piece of technology from an actual store here in over 4 years now. The stores, whether retail or private, are simply asking for laughs at their prices.

I highly recommend http://www.shopbot.com.au for real prices.
 
A D300s is 1139 pounds from Grays in UK that's equivalent to $1975 AUD

I just bought a D300s in Sydney from Nikon On Broadway it cost me $2175 AUD that's 1253 pounds. A difference of $200.
I can live with that, I get Australian Warranty.

I got my Eizo monitor from Kayell in Sydney last December.

I lived in England for 29 years, I miss the place but trust me living here in Australia and paying $200 more is nothing! Becausefor one up here in FNQ I don't have to chip the ice from the windows in the morning, and I'm talking about inside of the house.

Must dash, my Mushy peas need stirring.

Cheers Eric
--
http://www.pomgonewalkabout.com
 
A second hand "demo" model in a Perth 'pro' store costs $1999!

I saw one in a store in Denpasar (Bali) for only $1785 - they still provide Nikon warranty

And why such a difference on a blooming monitor?

Hope I didn't make you ruin your peas :-)

Thomo
 
Spread over how much land?

When a distributor sets up shop in Australia, does it have a larger area to cover, with fewer customers, than distributors in Great Britian and the USA.

Canada's a bitconfusing. Some Cdn, distributors are brahcnes of US distributors, so overhead is shared. Other Cdn, distributors are independent of the USA and have higher costs.

(I used to consult to a giant photo equipment distributor)

Canadian distributers, and Cdn retailers, try to keep most Cdn. prices for big things close to what it would cost a Canadian to import from the USA, plus adding on a little money because Cdns. will pay a bit extra for a Cdn warranty.

That's why bodies are close to us prices.

Accessories where shipping is $35 for a $50 item: the Canadian price will be a lot higher, without shipping, than the US price, and close to the US price when shipping is added in.

Closest Australia could do would be sone deal with NZ distributors, but that's a long way, small market, etc.

BAK
 
I'd imagine they'd sell you anything in Denpasar cheaper than here.

It's what happens when equipment breaks down and warranties come into effect that matters. I'll steer clear of anything from Bali thanks - especially when it comes to camera gear.

Zoooming
thomo said:
A second hand "demo" model in a Perth 'pro' store costs $1999!

I saw one in a store in Denpasar (Bali) for only $1785 - they still provide Nikon warranty

And why such a difference on a blooming monitor?

Hope I didn't make you ruin your peas :-)

Thomo
Click to expand...
 
I just purchased Adobe CS5 & LR3. In the USA the two bought together cost $699USD and $199USD respectively - a total of $900USD say which with the exchange rates is still less than $1000AUD. Yet I had to pay $1465AUD and the stuff was shipped from Singapore directly to me - it never even went into an Adobe.au warehouse! So why did it cost nearly 50% more???

A recent purchase of a Lenovo X300 laptop (Lenovo Aust) was even shipped from China - not Australia!

Your argument about warranty is pretty tenuous as well. In over 30 years of doing photography, I've bought (2) Bronica ETRS 6x4.5, (2) Hasselblads 6x6, (2) Mamiya 6x7, (1) Cambo SCX 4x5" and (5) Nikon film SLRs. In all those years I've only had to take one Nikon to a repair technician (after about 5 years use) and it cost me less than $100 to fix. I've never ever had to get a lens serviced.

In more recent years I've bought (2) D80's, (2) D90's, (2) D700's and (1) H3DII-39 and none have had any warranty problems.

The only gear I've ever had problems with were a couple of Canon digital happy snappers - and even Canon couldn't fix them!

The chances of a modern camera requiring service work is so small, the warranty is almost irrelevant!

Even if you buy gear out of Hong Kong, it still has a warranty - in the unlikely event of a fault you just need to ship it back to them!

We're supposed to be now in a global economy and with so many distributors not holding local stocks and shipping direct from overseas - I fail to see how they can justify prices 50% more expensive than in other global markets!
 
Regarding Warranty I purchased a Ricoh GX200 in the UK last year.

The lens broke and the Australian agent Tasco? Fixed it under warranty no problem.

I work in a school and through the website Education Software last week I purchased LR3 for $99.
CS5 will cost me $179 as a full version, if I bother to upgrade from CS4.

Sorry to rub it in but it is the only perk of having to put up with 11 kids all day. Yes 11, our school has only 11 kids!
Cheers Eric
--
http://www.pomgonewalkabout.com
 
While you may have had a trouble free ride with your camera gear there are plenty of others who have had the opposite experience.

When I look at all the gear my friend and I use the majority of our equipment, whether it's lenses or camera bodies, has been in to Canon for some form of service or repair. And I'm talking about 1D series bodies and 'L' series lenses.

Sure most of our work is outdoor or sports but the simple matter is that digital cameras cop more of a thrashing than film bodies ever did - certainly for sports and probably for most red carpet/media work.

So warranties, Canon CPS, and fast repair turnaround can be a huge advantage when you're shooting regularly. The last thing you want is your camera being sent of to a grey market vendor's warranty service and waiting unnecessarily for repaired equipment to return. Or on the other hand become embroiled in some dispute with an overseas warranty provider.

Sometimes the extra few $$$ it costs is worth it simply for convenience and peace of mind.

Zoooming
thomo said:
I just purchased Adobe CS5 & LR3. In the USA the two bought together cost $699USD and $199USD respectively - a total of $900USD say which with the exchange rates is still less than $1000AUD. Yet I had to pay $1465AUD and the stuff was shipped from Singapore directly to me - it never even went into an Adobe.au warehouse! So why did it cost nearly 50% more???

A recent purchase of a Lenovo X300 laptop (Lenovo Aust) was even shipped from China - not Australia!

Your argument about warranty is pretty tenuous as well. In over 30 years of doing photography, I've bought (2) Bronica ETRS 6x4.5, (2) Hasselblads 6x6, (2) Mamiya 6x7, (1) Cambo SCX 4x5" and (5) Nikon film SLRs. In all those years I've only had to take one Nikon to a repair technician (after about 5 years use) and it cost me less than $100 to fix. I've never ever had to get a lens serviced.

In more recent years I've bought (2) D80's, (2) D90's, (2) D700's and (1) H3DII-39 and none have had any warranty problems.

The only gear I've ever had problems with were a couple of Canon digital happy snappers - and even Canon couldn't fix them!

The chances of a modern camera requiring service work is so small, the warranty is almost irrelevant!

Even if you buy gear out of Hong Kong, it still has a warranty - in the unlikely event of a fault you just need to ship it back to them!

We're supposed to be now in a global economy and with so many distributors not holding local stocks and shipping direct from overseas - I fail to see how they can justify prices 50% more expensive than in other global markets!
Click to expand...
 
Would you expect the Camera Manufacturer in that country to honour some sort of warranty or service?

It doesn't appear to happen in Australia - certainly not with some major brands.

It shouldn't matter what country you bought your gear from - the repairs should be paid for by Nikon Corporation reimbursing the costs incured by the local repair agent.

I've heard stories of local repairers refusing to even touch bodies purchased overseas
 
import duties and sales tax/ VAT are the culprit for the increased prices.

few months back the AUD was very favorable to USD and while I was there , picked up some bose speakers etc, and with duty refund it was too cheap. almost 2/3 the cost of what we normally pay in thailand.

for software.... why did you need to get them shipped?

you can download it from their website and get the license key as a soft copy from them. you don't have to pay VAT and import duty on the license key... but you do have to pay on a disc which costs 200 USD.
thomo said:
I just purchased Adobe CS5 & LR3. In the USA the two bought together cost $699USD and $199USD respectively - a total of $900USD say which with the exchange rates is still less than $1000AUD. Yet I had to pay $1465AUD and the stuff was shipped from Singapore directly to me - it never even went into an Adobe.au warehouse! So why did it cost nearly 50% more???

A recent purchase of a Lenovo X300 laptop (Lenovo Aust) was even shipped from China - not Australia!

Your argument about warranty is pretty tenuous as well. In over 30 years of doing photography, I've bought (2) Bronica ETRS 6x4.5, (2) Hasselblads 6x6, (2) Mamiya 6x7, (1) Cambo SCX 4x5" and (5) Nikon film SLRs. In all those years I've only had to take one Nikon to a repair technician (after about 5 years use) and it cost me less than $100 to fix. I've never ever had to get a lens serviced.

In more recent years I've bought (2) D80's, (2) D90's, (2) D700's and (1) H3DII-39 and none have had any warranty problems.

The only gear I've ever had problems with were a couple of Canon digital happy snappers - and even Canon couldn't fix them!

The chances of a modern camera requiring service work is so small, the warranty is almost irrelevant!

Even if you buy gear out of Hong Kong, it still has a warranty - in the unlikely event of a fault you just need to ship it back to them!

We're supposed to be now in a global economy and with so many distributors not holding local stocks and shipping direct from overseas - I fail to see how they can justify prices 50% more expensive than in other global markets!
Click to expand...
 
There is no import duty on cameras or lenses into Australia - only a 10% Goods & Services Tax (GST).

Having imported a few exotic lenses from overseas, all I had to do was register as an importer and pay the 10% GST.

I'm sure the UK, USA and Canada also have some form of tax on the sale of goods.

Whether I want the disks rather than downloading the software and just buying a key is irrelevant - I was comparing the costs of the same software in the USA, purchased from the same organisation and there is a 45% difference!!!

Maybe the UK is different - I haven't checked the UK price for the same software but I bet it isn't 45% more expensive!
 
BAK said:
Spread over how much land?

When a distributor sets up shop in Australia, does it have a larger area to cover, with fewer customers, than distributors in Great Britian and the USA.
Click to expand...
Give me a break!

Canada is the 2nd largest country in the world and has the fewest photography distribution outlets of ANY major western economy!
BAK said:
Canada's a bitconfusing. Some Cdn, distributors are brahcnes of US distributors, so overhead is shared. Other Cdn, distributors are independent of the USA and have higher costs.

(I used to consult to a giant photo equipment distributor)
Click to expand...
Uh huh.
Is that why we Canucks are screwed now?
BAK said:
Canadian distributers, and Cdn retailers, try to keep most Cdn. prices for big things close to what it would cost a Canadian to import from the USA, plus adding on a little money because Cdns. will pay a bit extra for a Cdn warranty.

That's why bodies are close to us prices.
Click to expand...
It's simple collusion.
Illegal and wrong price fixing within a closed industry.

Consumers have no where to complain.

--
"Good fences make good neighbors"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_041oYDjg&feature=related
 
Why should the same lens or camera sold in the US be LESS expensive than the identical lens or camera sold in another country? I can understand adding costs onto the selling price like transportation shipping and fair-trade monetary differences, but every lens or camera made is still the same cost to the maker. I've read here in DP that even Europeans often have to pay much higher prices for similar products despite the Euro or Pound being strong worldwide. Why?

--
"Good fences make good neighbors"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV_041oYDjg&feature=related
 
Just bought Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 + Premier Elements 8.

From Adobe in the USA it is $120 USD - but from Adobe Australia it costs $207 AUD.

That is a 43% hike in price even allowing for the difference in the exchange rates!

Where is the equity and the supposed 'global' economy?
 
thomo said:
Where is the equity and the supposed 'global' economy?
Click to expand...
Equity? It maybe was there when Aborigines were the sole inhabitants. From when Europeans immigrated equity went and globalisation began to take it's toll. Equity isn't provided for in our globalised economy.
--
cheers, Peter
Germany
 
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